Supplementary data for article: Stanković, I. M.; Božinovski, D. M.; Brothers, E. N.; Belić, M. R.; Hall, M. B.; Zarić, S. D. Interactions of Aromatic Residues in Amyloids: A Survey of Protein Data Bank Crystallographic Data. Crystal Growth and Design 2017, 17 (12), 6353–6362. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.7b01035

Supporting information for: [https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.7b01035]Related to published version: [http://cherry.chem.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/2566

Kembrička kristalografska banka podataka (CSD)

Department of Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Serbia Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) contains more than five hundred thousand crystal structures of small molecules. Around 150 new crystal structures are archived every day. The data archived in the CSD can help in various fields of research. Some of them are crystallography, structural chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, noncovalent interactions, drug design, and metal-ligand interactions. Using CSD data and informatics approach enables studies based on analysis of a large amount of data

Toxic Metals in 3 Fractions (d<63µm, d63-250µm and d250-1000µm) of Dust Collected on Roads of Industrial Town Kostolac, Serbia

Kostolac is a town exposed to several serious sources of toxic metals and other inorganic pollutants. They arrive from sources typical for urban environments such as traffic, but also from various heavy industry sources: coal mining, burning of coal in power plants, ash landfills, and steel factory. Toxic metals in the air are concentrated in particulate matter. Their transport and health risks depend strongly on the size of dust particles. Goals of the research were to estimate: 1. how much does traffic contributes to the total pollution load compared to the natural sources and the industry; 2. how is pollution distributed in different fractions of the dust; 3. are there any spatial trends present and is there any correlation between vicinity of pollution sources and concentrations of toxic elements in different fractions of the dust. Samples of dust were collected from 10 locations in July and in September. Each location had one sampling site on a major road with intensive traffic and the other site on auxiliary road with much less traffic, located 10- 20 m away from the major road. The dust was dried, sieved through sieves with 3 different apertures (d=63µm, 250µm and 1000µm) and pressed into 32 mm diameter pellets. The samples were analysed by WD-XRF standardless method. The results showed that Al, P, K, V, Mn, Fe, Co, Zr, Rb and Ti have the highest concentrations in the smallest fraction (d<63µm) and the lowest concentrations in the most coarse fraction with stat. significant differences among concentrations. Concentrations of: Mg, S, Zn and Cu have the same trend as previous group of elements but no stat. significant differences, wile conc. of Si and Ca have the opposite trend. Neither the time of the year nor the intensity of the traffic have had any significant effect to the concentrations, therefore it can be concluded that industrial sources of pollution have significantly higher attribution to the total pollution load than traffic. The trend that toxic elements are more concentrated in the smallest fraction of the dust indicates that the source of the pollution is rather anthropogenic than natural. Concentrations of elements in dust collected on sites from our research were compared to concentrations of the same elements in the soil collected by SEPA (Serbian Environmental Protection Agency). Although locations from both researches were in close proximity, no significant correlation between concentrations was observed. The lack of correlation can be explained by several hypotheses which should be further investigated in future researches

Investigation of the effect of the aminocarboxylato chelate conformation on the optical activity of the cis(NO2),trans(NH2) -bis(aminocarboxylato)dinitrocobalt/ate(III) isomers

In the cis(NO2),trans(NH2)-bis(aminocarboxylato) dinitrocobalt/ate(III) isomers, containing glycinato, S-alaninato, S-n-valinato, S-valinato, S-n-leucinato, S-leucinato, S-i-leucinato and S-arginine ligands, respectively, it was found that in the Δ-isomers circular dichroic spectra are determined by the configurational contribution to the optical activity. This is connected in the case of optically active ligands with the chair conformation of the chelate rings and the equatorial position of the ring side group. In the Δ-isomers, λ- conformation of the aminocarboxylato chelate rings and the axial position of the ring side groups induce a considerable contribution to the optical activity, which varies from complex to complex. NMR spectroscopy showed that these variations are related to small changes in the chelate ring conformation in such a way that a more axial position of a ring side group induces a larger contribution. The λ-conformation of a S-aminocarboxylato chelate ring induces a large negative contribution to the circular dichroism of the investigated complexes. © 1988

Modest protective effects of progesterone treatment in hippocampus of male rats submitted to cerebral hypoperfusion

In the brain, three isoforms of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) regulate production of nitric oxide (NO), a signalling molecule with a role in cerebral blood flow regulation. Depending on the stimulus, NO exerts dual nature, from neuroprotective to neurodestructive. Given the scarcity of literature data on the involvement of nitrosative stress indicators in the rat hippocampal response to 7-day lasting progesterone (P4) treatment following permanent occlusion of both common carotid arteries, we assessed NO level and protein expressions of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS, including its total (t-eNOS) and phosphorylated at Ser1177 isoform (p-eNOS Ser1177)). According to obtained results, elevated NO levels occurred due to activity of other NOS forms since eNOS expressions were similar between experimental groups. Although NO level was downscaled it was still elevated in occluded animals treated with P4, showing modest anti-nitrosative effect of this potent steroid in the hippocampus

Supplementary data for article: Stanković, I. M.; Božinovski, D. M.; Brothers, E. N.; Belić, M. R.; Hall, M. B.; Zarić, S. D. Interactions of Aromatic Residues in Amyloids: A Survey of Protein Data Bank Crystallographic Data. Crystal Growth and Design 2017, 17 (12), 6353–6362. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.7b01035

Supporting information for: [https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.7b01035]Related to published version: [http://cherry.chem.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/2566

Progesterone exerts protective effects in rat permanent bilateral common carotid artery occlusion model

Introduction: Cerebral hypoperfusion (CH), a reduced cerebral blood flow, characteristic for aging and neurodegenerative disorders, might be associated with a pro-oxidative state in the brain due to the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that cause neuronal damage. These overgenerated pro-oxidants might be reduced, disabled and neutralized by the endogenous antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT). A sex steroid hormone, progesterone, in several experimental models of neuronal injury exerts anti-oxidative properties upregulating anti-oxidative molecules and thus promoting neuroprotection. However, its efficacy in the state of CH is still unknown and it is necessary to better understand the mechanism underlying this hormone’s neuroprotective effects. Aim: We investigated whether progesterone is able to modulate CH-induced pro-oxidative/anti-oxidative imbalance, as well as SOD and CAT activities, in the prefrontal cortex of three-month-old male Wistar rats subjected to permanent bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (2VO). Methods: The appropriate actions were undertaken to reduce the distress of the animals in agreement with the European Community Council Directive of 86/609/EEC and 010/63/EU for animal experiments. All experimental procedures were allowed by the Ethical Committee for the Use of Laboratory Animals of VINČA Institute of Nuclear Sciences - National Institute of thе Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Republic of Serbia (protocol authorization numbers 02/11 and 323-07-04253/2016-05). Following chloral hydrate anaesthesia, 8 rats randomly assigned in 2VO groups were double occluded with 5–0 silk suture, while 4 animals from sham operated group were subjected to the same surgical procedure but without actual ligation of carotid arteries. Four hours following the surgical procedure animals from sham operated group, used as controls, were subcutaneously treated with vehicle (commercial flax oil, 1 mg/kg/day, S + V), while animals in 2VO groups were subjected to either progesterone (1.7 mg/kg/day, 2VO + P) or vehicle (commercial flax oil, 1 mg/kg/day, 2VO + V). Following 7 days lasting treatments, pro-oxidative/anti-oxidative balance was assessed according to the method of Alamdari et al. [1]; while activities of anti-oxidative enzymes were determined as described in the study by Tatalović et al. [2]. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test followed by Tukey’s post hoc test was employed to analyse data. The values of p < 0.05 or less were considered statistically significant. Results: Obtained results demonstrate that compared to controls, 2VO and vehicle treatment induced a significant increase of pro-oxidants levels (p < 0.01) as well as the activities of both investigated anti-oxidative enzymes, although only the CAT activity was significantly increased (p < 0.05). Following progesterone treatment, pro-oxidants levels were lowered to the control level which caused the difference between the 2VO groups (p < 0.05). In parallel, no statistically significant change in SOD activity was observed, while CAT was upregulated (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Presented results suggest that in the prefrontal cortex in the state of CH, progesterone, by modulating the CAT activity, downregulates overgenerated reactive species, reduces CH-induced oxidative stress and exerts anti-oxidative outcomes

Bioelements and Non-Essential Elements in Honeybees and Their Hemolymph, Larvae, Pupae, Honey, Wax, Propolis and Bee Bread

In our previous research we have explored concentrations of 16 elements in samples collected from 3 different environments: Golija (rural region), Belgrade (urban region) and Zajača (industrial region). These three locations were chosen due to their distinctly different degrees of urbanization and industrialization. Macroelements (Ca, K, Mg, Na), microelements (Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn) and non-essential elements (Al, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Ni, Pb, Sr) were determined in the whole body of honeybees, but the major novelty of the research was that hemolymph of the bees was analysed as well. Significant spatial but also seasonal variations in content of bioelements and non-essential elements were observed. These findings have raised several important questions which are addressed in our current study. In order to better understand how bees’ environment does affects concentrations of elements mentioned above, dust and pollen collected from the same locations were analysed. They represent 2 major sources of bio elements and toxic elements for the bees: food and atmospheric deposition. For the better understanding of dynamics of investigated elements the scope of our research was further extended to the analysis of bee bread, honey, crops, wax, propolis, larvae and pupae. The samples were digested in accordance with the US EPA SW-846 Method 3052. Closed microwave digestion system (ETHOS 1, Advanced Microwave Digestion System, Milestone, Italy) was used for digestion with 5 to 8 ml of concentrated HNO3 and 1 or 2 ml of concentrated H2 O2 (depending on the mass and type of the sample). Concentrations of: Al, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Sr and Zn were determined by ICP-OES (iCAP 6500Duo, Thermo Scientific). Very low concentrations of: Co, Cr, Cd and Pb, which occurred in some samples were confirmed by ICP-MS (iCAP-Q-ICP-MS, Termo Scientific). Ratios between concentrations in the samples from industrial region and urban region were calculated and compared for different matrices. Concentrations of toxic metals such as Pb and Cd were significantly elevated in dust samples from the industrial site, and similar trend was observed for pollen, bee bread, wax, propolis, and the whole bees. Elevation of concentrations was not observed (or it was present in significantly lesser extent) for the samples of honey, larvae and pupae

Effects of chronic oral D-galactose treatment on general health status in male Wistar rats

D-galactose (d-gal) is an important physiological nutrient. According to the widely accepted aging metabolic theory d-gal at high levels can be converted into aldose and hydroperoxide, resulting in the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Increased ROS levels may subsequently cause oxidative stress, inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and apoptosis which are hallmarks of natural senescence as well as various pathological conditions. We investigated the effects of chronic oral d-gal intake (200 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg for 6 weeks) on physiological, neurological and toxicity parameters in 3 months old male Wistar rats. The obtained results indicate that body weight, food intake, serum glucose, neurological and toxicity status remained unaffected while urine proteins were significantly increased in d-gal treated rats. Although there was no effect on the general health status of the animals, our findings suggest that chronic oral d-gal administration may lead to renal dysfunction

Statistics of VHE \u3b3-rays in temporal association with radio giant pulses from the Crab pulsar

Aims. The aim of this study is to search for evidence of a common emission engine between radio giant pulses (GPs) and very-high-energy (VHE, E& x2004;> & x2004;100 GeV) gamma-rays from the Crab pulsar. Methods. We performed 16 h of simultaneous observations of the Crab pulsar at 1.4 GHz with the Effelsberg radio telescope and the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT), and at energies above 60 GeV we used the Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov (MAGIC) telescopes. We searched for a statistical correlation between the radio and VHE gamma-ray emission with search windows of different lengths and different time lags to the arrival times of a radio GP. A dedicated search for an enhancement in the number of VHE gamma-rays correlated with the occurrence of radio GPs was carried out separately for the P1 and P2 phase ranges, respectively. Results. In the radio data sample, 99444 radio GPs were detected. We find no significant correlation between the GPs and VHE photons in any of the search windows. Depending on phase cuts and the chosen search windows, we find upper limits at a 95% confidence level on an increase in VHE gamma-ray events correlated with radio GPs between 7% and 61% of the average Crab pulsar VHE flux for the P1 and P2 phase ranges, respectively. This puts upper limits on the flux increase during a radio GP between 12% and 2900% of the pulsed VHE flux, depending on the search window duration and phase cuts. This is the most stringent upper limit on a correlation between gamma-ray emission and radio GPs reported so far